To The Moon And Back
by missandi
Summary: A collection of short pieces of Avengers-centric writing, with each chapter ranging between 100-500 words thus far. A random pairing generator was used for this, and so pairings and topics will vary. So far characters included are: Coulson, Loki, Natasha, Clint, Sif, Pepper, Steve and Maria Hill.
1. Determined - Coulson & Loki

A/N - Obviously, I do not own the Avengers. I wish, but sadly that's not the case. The characters and many of the scenarios are not mine. I'd really like your opinion on these, if you read them. Good, bad, ugly - any comments or criticisms at all are lovely.

* * *

Coulson's only thought is to _stop_ Loki. It's what he's trained to do - protect his country, fight the bad guys, do what he has to to ensure that the country (and now planet) he loves remains safe and whole to see another day. Except in this situation, Coulson knows he can't win. He knows that Loki will likely kill him, but he has accepted that and he is willing to take that risk. It will be worth it, to stop the megalomaniac god in his tracks for even half a second. As he holds the gun trained on Loki, he thinks that maybe he might actually have the upper hand here. He's determined to see this through, for better or worse.

It isn't until the sharp metal pierces him that he realizes he's wrong. But he's prepared. He was willing to take this risk. He doesn't hear Thor's shouts from inside the cell built to contain Banner if everything went to hell. He doesn't feel anything but_pain_, but Coulson is not weak and he can handle a little pain. His hands never release his weapon, and he waits for a chance. He watches and waits as Loki ejects Thor from the helicarrier, and when the moment is right he lures Loki in. He hits the god where he knows it will hurt.

**"You're gonna lose."**

It's a fact that he believes to be true, but one that Loki will not accept until he's been beaten down and completely defeated. He argues, but Coulson's jab has accomplished what he wanted. When Loki is in firing range, he pulls the trigger.

It's a glorious moment, he thinks, the gun resting across his thighs. He's done what he can - what he knows. Now it's up to them.


	2. Submission - Natasha & Loki

**A/N** - Obviously, I do not own the Avengers. I wish, but sadly that's not the case. The characters and many of the scenarios are not mine. I'd really like your opinion on these, if you read them. Good, bad, ugly - any comments or criticisms at all are lovely.

* * *

This is her only chance. Loki has taken so much from her, made her insecure and made her doubt herself. Never has Natasha felt so unraveled by anybody, and this is her last chance to take her revenge. And so Natasha makes her way past his guards. They make no move to stop her - they know better. She could remove them all and barely break a sweat, but this is easier for everybody involved. She gives one of them a nod as she shoves the now unlocked door open. She's ready for this - she hasn't changed since the battle. With the press of a button, the bracelet around her right wrist buzzes to life. She's decided she'll put him down quickly so he doesn't have the chance to overpower her.

And when that's done? Natasha has never been one for torture, but she'll make an exception just this once. She intends to inflict pain until he begs for forgiveness - from her and from all the others. He rises from his seat as she enters. **"Agent Romanoff, to what do I owe -"**

She cuts him off by jabbing her wrist up against his throat, sending a jolt of electricity through his body. He isn't expecting it and it's easy enough for her to use her signature move on him, clamping her thighs around his throat and holding on tight until he no longer fights and she's sure she's managed to fight him into submission. Only then does she release him.

She won't kill him. He has far too much to answer for for her to let him take the easy way out like that. His ledger is gushing as much red as hers ever was, and that's his problem. She only wants to get even, and she'll do whatever it takes.


	3. Socks - Clint & Sif

**A/N** - Obviously, I do not own the Avengers. I wish, but sadly that's not the case. The characters and many of the scenarios are not mine. I'd really like your opinion on these, if you read them. Good, bad, ugly - any comments or criticisms at all are lovely. This one's kind of silly because, well, this is what the prompt/pairing generator gave me. I tried not to be too OOC with it.

* * *

Clint knows this is going to get old fast. He's never been much of a babysitter, and he's certainly never kept watch over a grown woman who can't even do her own laundry. He's tried to explain the washing machine to Sif several times, but she has no interest. She claims it is "a woman's work" and that she is a warrior.

He doesn't know what will be less useful - trying to teach Sif or complaining - and so he keeps at both.

**"Look, Sif,"** he begins, his teeth practically gritted. **"I'm a trained assassin. I don't have time to babysit a Norse goddess - let alone one who can't even wash her own socks."**

The look she gives him actually makes him pause, and he still grumbles but he washes her clothes for her.


	4. Seize the Day - Clint & Coulson

**A/N** - Obviously, I do not own the Avengers. I wish, but sadly that's not the case. The characters and many of the scenarios are not mine. I'd really like your opinion on these, if you read them. Good, bad, ugly - any comments or criticisms at all are lovely. I'm aware that Coulson's not _actually_ in this one, but this is what the prompt inspired me to write for those characters.

* * *

Clint still can't believe Coulson's gone. Of course, he's not a child. He knows that people die in the line of duty all the time, and he's seen it happen before. Coulson has been a constant in Clint's professional life for years, though, and it's hard to believe he's not around anymore.

After the battle is won and Loki is shipped off back to Asgard, he and Natasha find a seedly little dive bar where nobody will realize - or care - who they are. Their faces have been all over the news for days, but disappearing is no difficult task for two people like them.

**"He's gone, Tasha."** Clint's stare into his glass of whiskey is blank. Natasha was close with Coulson as well, though he'd never been her mentor the way he'd been Clint's.

**"He wouldn't want us to cry over him."** Natasha's voice is calm and composed. She downs her shot of vodka before continuing. **"He'd just tell us we'd saved the world and this was no time for tears."** Not that the Black Widow truly remembered how to cry.

**"Tell us to 'seize the day', or something sentimental like that."** Clint wishes things were different - that he'd been there to back Coulson up, but done is done and this time he knows the blood's never going to wash away. It could have been worse - he'd come close to killing Natasha and that might just have been what it took to break him. Tonight, they'd drink to Coulson's memory and they'd grieve, and tomorrow life would go on.


	5. Overwhelmed - Pepper & Steve

**A/N** - Obviously, I do not own the Avengers. I wish, but sadly that's not the case. The characters and many of the scenarios are not mine. I'd really like your opinion on these, if you read them. Good, bad, ugly - any comments or criticisms at all are lovely. Also I feel like I am _so_ bad at capturing Pepper. She's going to take some getting used to.

* * *

Pepper feels sorry for him. Steve Rogers is a man far from the place - and time - where he belongs. Part of Pepper wants to protect him from this cruel world that he's not ready for. She reaches out to lay a gentle hand on his arm and his eyes look so lost when he turns to her. For a second, her heart aches for him.

**"Are you feeling alright, Steve?"**

He seems to sink into himself a little. **"Yes, ma'am. Just a little overwhelmed."**

It's obvious to anybody who looks at him that this world is so much more than he was ready for. Pepper has decided she'll do her best, though, to help him in any way she can.

**"Nobody expects you to be perfect, Steve."** She hopes he believes her, but she has the feeling that he won't.


	6. Children - Maria Hill & Sif

**A/N** - Obviously, I do not own the Avengers. I wish, but sadly that's not the case. The characters and many of the scenarios are not mine. I'd really like your opinion on these, if you read them. Good, bad, ugly - any comments or criticisms at all are lovely. In my head canon Sif and Maria Hill have a sort of not-quite-respect type deal going on because they're both strong women and fight for what they believe in.

* * *

Sif and Agent Maria Hill have been watching each other warily for some time now. It's no secret that Maria isn't certain she fully trusts the Asgardian, and it doesn't help that to Sif most humans seem weak and - at times - insignificant. Thankfully Maria has learned to overlook the goddess' sometimes grating mannerisms and the two have started to build a tentative, reluctant respect for one another. For example, at this moment in time, they are actually _talking_. Not about the job or about future missions, but about their lives.

It isn't something Maria ever thought would happen. One question in particular seems odd to her, though.

**"Do you have children, Agent Hill?"**

Maria doesn't stop to dwell on the missed opportunities, shaking her head. **"No. I've never had the time or the desire."**

Sif seems to approve of this answer. They're more alike in many ways than people give them credit for, the human agent of SHIELD and the Asgardian warrior goddess. Perhaps Maria Hill has found something of a kindred spirit, which is more than welcome in light of Coulson's tragic - but heroic - demise.


	7. Pink - Natasha & Maria Hill

**A/N** - Obviously, I do not own the Avengers. I wish, but sadly that's not the case. The characters and many of the scenarios are not mine. I'd really like your opinion on these, if you read them. Good, bad, ugly - any comments or criticisms at all are lovely. This prompt/group of characters just amused me too much.

* * *

Is that ... Maria Hill? For a moment Natasha is floored to see her out at all, let alone in that bubblegum-pink contraption that she's chosen to wear. It's so out-of-synch with her mental image of Agent Hill that for a moment, Natasha's urge is to smile. She doubts anybody there knows them, after all, and Hill doesn't seem to have spotted her yet. It isn't until later that she manages to corner Maria in the ladies' room and regards the slightly shorter woman with an arched brow and smirk on her face.

**"You look ****_lovely_****, Agent Hill."** There's the slightest note of teasing in Natasha's voice. **"Though I never expected to see ****_you_**** wearing pink."**

Agent Hill manages to keep her composure well, though her face flushes slightly and Natasha muses that she's turned as pink as that god-awful dress. **"Yes, Natasha. I'm wearing pink. The last time I checked, that wasn't a punishable offence."** With that she brushes past the redhead, making her way out of the room and leaving Natasha in her wake.


	8. Panic - Natasha & Clint

**A/N** - Obviously, I do not own the Avengers. I wish, but sadly that's not the case. The characters and many of the scenarios are not mine. I'd really like your opinion on these, if you read them. Good, bad, ugly - any comments or criticisms at all are lovely.

* * *

Natasha isn't sure she's ready for this. She's fought countless men and women before, of course, but never people she knows like [i]this[/i]. Clint is more than a colleague, he's become like family to Natasha. He's one of the few people she can honestly claim that she has ever loved, and part of her is terrified that she won't be able to get him back. This could be the end, of everything. She fights with a desperation that she hasn't felt in over a decade.

All she feels is panic when he comes close to ending it, his knife only inches from her throat. She's better than that, though, and in the end she gets the better of him because she _has to win_ this one. Failure is not an option. She knocks him out cold, pleased that he seems to recognize her at the end and realize what he was done. She knows that if there's any way to get him back, she'll do it. For everything they were, and everything they will be. There's no way she's going to let Loki take _that_ from her.


	9. Daydreams - Steve & Natasha

**A/N** - Obviously, I do not own the Avengers. I wish, but sadly that's not the case. The characters and many of the scenarios are not mine. I'd really like your opinion on these, if you read them. Good, bad, ugly - any comments or criticisms at all are lovely.

* * *

Steve can't stop thinking about her. He knows it's not healthy, but there's just so much he wanted to do and say that it's hard to face the fact that he never got to say goodbye to Peggy. He daydreams about what could have been, sometimes, when he has nothing else that needs to be done.

Natasha walks into the room and wakes him from the daydream, though. He gives her a sheepish, half-hearted smile and she looks at him like she _knows_ what he's going through. **"It gets easier,"** she reassures him, as though the dull ache brought about whenever he thinks of Peggy will ever go away.

**"I hope so."** He hopes the pain will fade, but at the same time he doesn't ever want to forget her.


End file.
